A lawyer at every police station
It is not in doubt that the highest number of human rights violations perpetuated in Nigeria are carried out by officers of the Nigeria Police Force on duty, or while a suspect is in police custody. There arise numerous situations where due to the absence of a legal practitioner during police investigation, a suspect is […]
It is not in doubt that the highest number of human rights violations perpetuated in Nigeria are carried out by officers of the Nigeria Police Force on duty, or while a suspect is in police custody.
There arise numerous situations where due to the absence of a legal practitioner during police investigation, a suspect is committed to prison to serve a sentence for a crime he/she did not commit; there also arise countless scenarios where citizens are arrested and detained by the police, for civil disputes like debt recovery between parties.
This incidents of human rights abuse are so prevalent in our police stations as majority of the country’s citizens who wind up there, are unaware of their rights as enshrined and are provided by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). With the level of ignorance of the law so high, and with the usual attitude of some of our police officers, it is only plausible that with the presence of a legal practitioner supervising activities in the stations, certain acts of human rights abuse will be curbed greatly.
While discussing this topic with learned friends (Chikezie Ezumah, Esq, Hussein Tunde Oyebanji, Esq, Uche Enyioha, Esq, and Miss Augustina Joshua) on the possibility or otherwise of a lawyer in every police station, someone expressed doubt on the Nigerian legal system being able to enforce such idea, considering that the police would not be comfortable carrying out their duties under the prying eyes of the law.
The question as to who will provide the lawyers needed, and pay their salaries came up, and someone expressed the opinion that young lawyers fresh from the law school should be the ones stationed at the police station, or that it be rotated among senior colleagues who practice in the jurisdiction.
To my mind, anything is possible with the right approach. A great country like Nigeria has grown beyond copying certain practices, or policies of other countries to solve its internal problems. The time has come for us to look inward, use our surrounding circumstances peculiar to us, to proffer solutions for the betterment of the country. Human rights violation in Nigeria perverts the smooth sail of the course of justice; it inhibits the administration of criminal justice, and promotes aggression of the citizens against the government.
It is in line with the above, that a legal desk ought to be provided in all police stations for lawyers to advise officers on the position of the law concerning arrest, detention and the granting of bail. This way, a number of cases that have no business with police stations, will be discharged accordingly, and offences with criminal elements treated with regard to the tenets of the law.
The legal department of the Nigeria Police Force, made up of police officers who are lawyers, is full with fundamental human rights applications in different courts, and the officers are not always present in the various police stations, thereby making it impossible for them to have first-hand information on the happenings at the stations. The Legal Aid Council provides free legal services to indigent citizens; it does not supervise activities of the various police stations in the country.
If established, the Ministry of Justice of each state will provide the legal desk for police stations, the lawyer assigned will advise the police on suspects that ought not to spend the night in police custody, monitor applications and grant of police bail, ensure that bail is free, and make monthly reports to the Commissioner for Justice on the cases for further action by the ministry.
Legal practitioners serving their fatherland, with the teaching of Faculty of Law and Nigerian Law School fresh on their minds should be posted to the Ministry of Justice of the state where they are serving, and then re-assigned to the various police stations of the state. They should be replaced by other Corp members when the service year is ended. This would help reduce the cost of establishing, and funding a legal desk in all police stations in the country.
The fear of intimidation of young lawyers at the desk can be cured by the fact that the lawyer is not there to interfere with police investigation, but rather advise on the legality or otherwise of certain acts, and make reports to the Ministry of Justice before prosecution is carried out. The underlining objective is to ensure that police investigations are not scuttled, before matters are taken to the courts of the land for prosecution.
Godspeed!
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